More than 200 million viewers tune in for the first 11 days of Olympics

by jmaloni

Wed, Aug 8th 2012 09:45 am

London Olympics continues to pace ahead of Beijing and Athens in
every measurement

Seven out of 10 Americans have watched the London 2012 Olympics

33.1 million average viewership and 18.5 household rating for the
first 11 nights of the London Olympics is the most for any non-U.S.
Summer Olympics in 36 years

Through 11 days, the London Olympics has reached 202.6 million
total viewers across the Olympic Networks of NBCUniversal, averaged
33.1 million primetime viewers, and registered a household rating of
18.5/31, each posting significant gains compared to the 2008 Beijing
Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics, the last European Olympics.

Through 11 days, 202.6 million people have
watched the Olympics on the networks of NBCUniversal, 2.8 million
more than Beijing (199.8) through the same time period. The 2008
Beijing Games hold the record for the most-watched event in U.S.
television history with 215 million viewers. The 202.6 million total
viewers is 14.4 million more than Athens through the same period
(188.2 million).

•Through the first 11 nights of the London Olympics, NBC is
averaging 33.1 million viewers, the most of any non-U.S. Summer
Olympics since the 1976 Montreal Olympics. The 33.1 million is 3.5
million more viewers than Beijing (29.6 million), nearly 7 million
more than Athens (26.2 million).

•The 11 night average household rating of 18.5/31 is the best
for any non-U.S. Summer Olympics since the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
The 18.5/31 is 8 percent higher than the first 11 nights from Beijing
(17.2/30), and 17 percent ahead of the first 11 nights from Athens
(15.8/28), the last European Summer Olympics.

•10 out of the 11 nights of the London Olympics have
out-delivered Beijing among average viewers (P2+). In household
ratings, the London Olympics have been equal to or greater than
Beijing in 10 of 11 nights.

•Additionally, seven nights of the London Olympics have drawn
more than 30 million viewers, equal to the 2008 Beijing Olympics
(five) and 2004 Athens Olympics (two) combined.

PRIMETIME

Monday night's coverage, which featured the men's 400m final,
women's 400m hurdle final and women's uneven bars final, drew
26.6 million viewers, 1 percent higher than the Beijing Olympics
(26.4 million) and 2 percent higher than the comparable night at the
Athens Olympics (26.0 million), the last European Olympics.

Monday night's primetime coverage on NBC (8 to 11:05 p.m.)
earned a 15.8/25 national rating/share, flat with the comparable
night in Beijing (15.8/26).

HIGHEST RATED BY TIME ZONE (THROUGH 11 DAYS):

Mountain

21.8/38

Pacific

20.1/38

Central

20.0/34

Eastern

19.0/32

11-NIGHT METERED MARKET AVERAGE:

1. Salt Lake City

26.6/47

2. Milwaukee

24.4/41

3. Kansas City

24.2/40

4. Denver

23.8/45

5. Columbus, OH

23.3/39

6. Norfolk

23.1/36

7. Indianapolis

22.7/38

8. San Diego

22.5/40

9. Richmond

22.1/35

10. West Palm Beach

21.9/36

11. Albuquerque-Santa Fe

21.5/36

12. Minneapolis-St. Paul

21.4/41

13. Austin, TX

21.3/39

14. Portland, OR

21.1/38

T15. Oklahoma City

21.0/43

T15. Sacramento

21.0/34

17. Nashville

20.9/39

18. Ft. Myers-Naples

20.8/32

19 Atlanta

20.8/37

20. St. Louis

20.6/34

NBCUniversal, presenting its 13th Olympics, the most by
any U.S. media company, will make an unprecedented 5,535 hours of the
2012 London Olympics coverage available across NBC, NBC Sports
Network, MSNBC, CNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, NBCOlympics.com, two
specialty channels, and the first-ever 3D platform, an unprecedented
level that surpasses the coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics by
nearly 2,000 hours.

For the full schedule of NBCUniversal's Olympic coverage, visitNBCOlympics.com.